On March 20, 2014, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced the sixth imported case of measles confirmed this year. The case is a one-year-old female baby who returned to Taiwan from Malaysia on March 4. On March 13, the baby subsequently developed fever, rash, conjunctivitis and cough. After the baby sought medical attention, infection with measles was confirmed in the case. As of now, the case is stable and hospitalized in isolation for treatment. To prevent further spread of the disease, the health authority has compiled a list of 60 contacts, including people who reside in the same household, healthcare personnel and patients, to monitor their health and administer follow up activities such as post-exposure prophylaxis until April 7. As of now, none of the contacts has developed suspected symptoms. Thus far this year, as of March 20, a total of 6 imported measles cases have been confirmed in Taiwan. Among them, five became infected while visiting or living in Southeast Asia with their parents (3 became infected in the Philippines, 1 became infected in Indonesia, and 1 became infected in Malaysia).

Measles is a highly infectious respiratory disease that is spread by contact with droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of an infected person, either directly or through aerosol transmission. An infected person remains infectious 4 days before and after the development of rash. Nevertheless, measles is vaccine-preventable. Travelers visiting areas affected by measles are urged to pay attention to personal hygiene and avoid brining children under one year old and those who have not completed the MMR vaccine series to the affected areas. On the other hand, some people who have not been infected with measles or those who received the MMR vaccine when young, but their measles antibody level has decreased over time are still at risk for infection. Therefore, they are advised to receive the MMR vaccine two to four weeks prior to their departure to prevent infection.

Taiwan CDC reminds travelers to seek immediate medical attention when sick and advises patients to wear a mask during the entire stay in the hospital. Moreover, travelers planning to visit areas affected by measles are advised to visit the outpatient travel clinic at 21 contracted hospitals in the nation to determine the need for measles vaccination prior to their trip, and throughout the trip, pay attention to personal hygiene, wash hands frequently, avoid touching mouth and nose, and wearing a mask when visiting crowded places. If symptoms pertaining to measles infection such as fever, rhinitis and rash develop, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the physician of relevant travel and exposure history. For any questions or further information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922, or 0800-001922 if calling from a cell phone.